Overview
- Higgo, penalized two strokes for arriving one minute late on Thursday, opened with a double bogey and still posted a one-under 69 that left him two back of the leaders.
- Officials said he was outside the defined starting area, which is marked by ropes, stakes or blue lines, when his 7:18 a.m. tee time began.
- He was allowed to continue under Rule 5.3a, which lets players start within five minutes late with a two-stroke penalty.
- Michael Kim said the shared first and 10th tee and five-minute alternation nearly caused him to be late, since he is used to 10-minute gaps.
- Aldrich Potgieter was among the co-leaders at three under and said an early start helped him settle in during his first PGA Championship.